Chapter 137
Chapter 137
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Karin Krebitz
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As the woman noticed Loan's gaze, the movement of her knee hair abruptly stopped.
It looked like an animal's tail, or perhaps the tentacle of a magical beast.
Even for someone like Loan, this was impossible.
He could increase its rigidity by infusing it with mana, but he couldn't make hair move like that. Unless, of course, he used an external force like Convection.
He wondered if the way it had been stretched out at first was also intentional.
"Your hair is truly special."
The words escaped him before he knew it.
It was because he was genuinely impressed.
It didn't just seem to sway with her emotions; it looked like it moved according to her will.
What an incredible ability.
"You really sound like you're mocking me."
Her cold question came in response.
"No, what—who said anything about attacking with hair? Is that why you were envious? 'Special hair'… What kind of thing is that to say to a woman?"
"What does gender have to do with hair? I've always thought that hair is just hair. This is the moment I've confirmed that there's ordinary hair and extraordinary hair, so of course I'm surprised. It's a truly special talent."
"A talent?"
"Because it's an ability that I, at least, do not possess and cannot replicate."
The woman laughed again, as if dumbfounded.
Within her incredulous laughter, there were hints of incongruous emotions. Anger and amusement.
Loan mustered his courage and asked.
"I'm just curious, but can you control that hair at will?"
"..."
The two looked at each other and remained still.
A long silence followed.
Then, a decision from one side.
The woman met Loan's eyes and extended the hair forward.
Loan marveled at the hair, which gathered together and shot out sharply, like a sword.
"I knew it... So that's why you had your hair stretched out before, you were wary of me. You're even more amazing than the torchbearers. They had to pull out their hair to generate aura, but you..."
With a short sigh, the woman spoke.
"Karin. Karin Krebitz."
"Yes. Because you, Karin, can move that hair as freely as any other part of your body."
Loan's eyes, fixed on Karin's knees, were filled with curiosity.
*How hard is it? What's its tensile strength?*
*Could she imbue it with magical power? Can she adjust its length at will? It seems like she could probably change its shape to some extent.*
*What happens if it's pulled out? Does it maintain its basic properties? Does new hair grow back in its place? How long does it take?*
There were so many things he wanted to ask and have her try. But he couldn't do that upon their first meeting.
The space between her perfectly drawn eyebrows furrowed tightly. It seemed she was deep in thought.
As Loan stared intently at her legs, Karin suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment.
*'Who is this person?'*
He had suddenly appeared in this high spire at dusk, flustering her, and she had gotten swept up in conversation because of his absurd comments about her hair being wonderful.
He was the first person she had met in over a decade. A man, though young. And so handsome it felt like a dream.
Suddenly, she became objectively aware of her own situation.
In her flustered state, she had extended her knee hair, which had ultimately led to this mess.
*'Even if I was flustered...'*
An even greater sense of shame washed over her.
She hastily pulled a blanket over to hide her legs.
A sigh of disappointment escaped Loan's lips.
"Ah..."
"Wh-what is it? Don't you think it's rude to keep staring like that?"
"Is that so? I'm quite used to such gazes..."
Loan swallowed his words.
Why did Archbishop Fabian's advice to consider things from others' perspectives suddenly come to mind?
Had he once again been thinking and acting based solely on his own standards?
But he couldn't help but ask.
It was a shame.
"That hair. You're ashamed of it, aren't you?"
"Isn't that obvious? No matter how many nice things you say, like calling it a talent, what's hideous is hideous."
"Of course, some things may be pleasing to the eye, but I don't believe anything is truly hideous. That's how I see it."
"..."
Loan calmly continued to speak about his views on beauty and ugliness.
"From my perspective, whether someone has hair growing somewhere, is missing a limb or two, or has some sort of irrationality or disharmony in their appearance... it really makes no difference."
"..."
"One might subjectively determine relative superiority or inferiority between individuals, but when viewed from the standard of perfection, everything falls short. It's a matter of being perfect or not perfect."
It was like a great artist deeming all works that didn't meet their standards as failures.
But he didn't say that out loud.
It was an easy analogy to understand, but the word "failure" wasn't appropriate to use for a person.
"..."
Karin was at a loss for words.
Though he didn't say it outright, he was clearly calling himself perfect.
Of course, she thought his appearance warranted it, but was it really so easy for someone to say such a thing about themself?
Was he able to speak like that simply because he was flawlessly handsome?
Unless he was incredibly thick-skinned, it shouldn't be easy, yet he was so nonchalant.
*'Does he not know shame?'*
The question arose naturally.
And suddenly, her thoughts continued.
*'What is shame?'*
Following that fundamental question...
Thoughts bloomed and mingled wildly in Karin's mind.
*Why did I withdraw? Why do I have to live in this spire? What did I do wrong? Do I have to live my whole life like this just because some hair grew strangely? No... what does 'strange' even mean?*
Then.
"Ha, haha. Hahaha..."
Karin suddenly laughed out of sheer absurdity.
Her worries suddenly felt like nothing.
She had cursed her life so much.
And yet she didn't have the courage to jump and end it all.
But now that she was thinking it was no big deal, it really felt that way.
She abruptly threw off the blanket and looked at her knees.
The knee hair was rippling.
She then turned her gaze to Loan.
"It's this easy?"
The cryptic words escaped her lips.
Loan didn't perfectly understand her inner turmoil, but he could tell one thing for sure.
Loan mimicked her smile and said.
"Your expression has brightened. You're smiling now."
Karin's face flushed red again.
"I am?"
"Yes."
Loan hoped that she, having just unlocked the bolt on her heart, would now throw the door wide open.
To do that, they needed to talk more about the hair without any reservations.
He naturally asked about the things he was curious about one by one, and Karin, no longer offended, answered him softly.
"Wow... It really grows back right after you pull it out?"
It returned to its original state so quickly that it was hard to even say it "grew back."
Also.
"I didn't know you could move it so freely."
Karin's knee hair had even more autonomy than Loan had expected.
It could extend long enough to surpass her height, and it could move freely to form shapes.
It could be sharpened to a point like an awl or spread out into the shape of a net.
There was almost no time lag in the process of making it soft and then hard.
She once again mustered her courage and allowed Loan to touch it, and he was astonished by its hardness and softness.
Karin was bewildered.
"Is this really that amazing?"
"Yes."
"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever done something like this."
"Ah, it's even more amazing that you've been alone for so long and never tried this. How did you resist?"
She had only ever thought of it as hideous throughout her life. She had ignored it.
Loan took it a step further.
"In any case, it would be much more useful if you exposed it to the outside instead of hiding it."
"Even so, I don't know if I need to go so far as to reveal it..."
Seeing Karin trail off, Loan also pondered the matter.
A way to keep it exposed at all times, while being free from the gazes of others.
What kind of transformation would be necessary, not for shame, but to create an element of surprise?
He soon voiced the idea that came to him without reservation.
"Then how about using it as shoes instead?"
"Shoes?"
"Yes. The hard part on the outside, the soft part on the inside. If you extend it down from your knees to wrap around the soles of your feet."
Hearing Loan's words, Karin did as he said.
The hair flowed down from below her knees, wrapping around her calves and down to the soles of her feet.
Soon, it took shape.
At a glance, it looked as if she were wearing black fur boots or tall boots.
"Are you talking about something like this?"
"Yes. Exactly that."
"I'm not sure how it looks, but it doesn't feel bad."
"It looks fine, too."
A firm reply.
Coming from someone who spoke with such conviction about beauty and ugliness, his words sounded very credible.
Karin walked around the spire for a moment, repeatedly lowering her head to check the appearance.
It seemed her shame had already vanished.
Karin said.
"I'll have to figure out more about what I can do with it."
"Yes. I think it will have endless uses once you go out into the world. The first thing that comes to mind is that it would be quite useful for protecting yourself. It moves reflexively, almost at the speed of thought."
"That's true, but... Wait a minute. Out into the world?"
Karin suddenly wore a startled expression.
"Yes. Were you planning to live in this spire forever?"
"..."
Leaving the spire.
It felt like a separate issue from overcoming her shame.
Her past experiences made it even more so.
It was a wedding forced upon her by her parents, but she had held expectations and romantic notions.
If only the hair hadn't sprouted from her knees that day, her life might have been completely different.
"This has nothing to do with being ashamed. I became a burden to this family. I'm practically a sinner who can't show her face."
Karin fell silent for a long time.
It seemed she had no intention of talking about her past.
Loan straightened his clothes and nodded.
*'This should be enough.'*
He had already satisfied his curiosity. To advise or interfere any further in her life would be overstepping.
If she decided to go out into the world, that would be her choice.
It was right for her to overcome it on her own, even if it took time.
So now it was time to focus on the magical beasts below. Time to be faithful to his role as a Union Runner.
Once he solved the surrounding problems, the talk of being unable to cross the border because of the spire's demon would disappear.
It was also necessary for Karin's true freedom.
Loan said.
"I hope you sort out your feelings and come down from the spire."
"Oh, are you leaving?"
"Yes. I have something to check on below."
"You mean those magical beasts. I don't know when they settled there."
That was one of the things that had been bothering Loan.
"I'll take care of the magical beasts on my way down. The problem is your family, Ms. Karin. I don't know yet if your family is down there, or if it's someone else."
In truth, although she had said her family was sending up food, Karin wasn't certain either.
She had considered that it might be someone else.
It didn't really matter.
Karin said.
"Yes. Today felt a bit hectic, like a dream, but... thank you."
"It was nothing. I hope you take your time to sort out your thoughts and venture out into the world."
Loan gave her a simple farewell.
Just as he had arrived, he abruptly threw himself out the window.
A short scream echoed from outside the spire.
After briefly savoring the feeling of freefall, Loan used Convection on a protrusion to control his speed.
For a brief moment, he sharpened his senses as he looked down at the pack of magical beasts.
A strange feeling made him suddenly look up.
"Uh..."
Karin had hooked her knee hair onto the windowsill and was descending upside down.
Despite the considerable height, the hair stretched out longer and longer.
She overcame it remarkably fast.